Most people count years sequentially. Urbane is not fettered with such pedestrian constraints. Welcome to the hype overdrive for Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the subject of this month’s feature. Contingents from more than 200 countries and international organizations are poised to flock to Shanghai slightly less than a year and a half from now. They will build a Giant Hairy Marshmallow, and scores of other amazing exhibition pavilions, as they show off to each other and the world for six glorious months. To make it all happen they will raze their city as Beijing did for the Olympics, mercilessly popularize a goofy gummy mascot, and take as many other extreme actions as they can think of, on a massive scale.

Back here in the present, things are still pretty interesting. Our expanded Exhibitionist section features a what’s why and why’s what of China’s recent nationwide art zone explosion, as fashion heavyweight Dior also thunders onto the Chinese contemporary art scene this month in Beijing. Elsewhere, we discuss a bovine-grass energy solution for rural China, The Opposite House reveals its attractions and Nanluogu Xiang explodes with commercial creativity.

As all Urbane readers know, a helmet and road goggles can only protect so much. Many days, it seems the dangers of speedy freewheeling is not so nefarious as the street’s sludge of slowness. As Beijing’s Olympic dreamy traffic restrictions fade into ever-dimmer memory, this month’s “Car Crunch” feature takes a look at some potential solutions for Beijing’s gnashing gridlock.

In our other feature, “The Hunan Factor,” Madeleine O’Dea tells the story behind the SZ Art Center in 798, a homegrown complement to the mega-galleries (such as UCCA and Pace) that now loom large on the landscape of Chinese contemporary art.

As the specter of winter cold looms around the corner, Urbane’s gaze turns toward another looming beast, as both of our features address the magnificently monstrous new CCTV headquarters project in Beijing’s CBD. Alex Pasternack slips behind the scenes of the CCTV project (Must See TV, p22), finding out why and how the people behind it have made it the way it is. Meanwhile, photographer Jim Gourley and his camera take a more pedestrian approach, appraising the structure from a thousand human perspectives (Transfixed, p28).

In the Dwell section, we recommend a palette of stylish autumnal decorations, as well as a slew of sleekly thin gadgets, and sit down with the designers behind the local product line Doublebrain. In our two design features, we go inside architect Wang Hui’s striking Changping District retreat as well as the gritty, seductive Hotel G by Gongti West Gate.

The American Renaud brothers are known for their hard-hitting cinema verite documentary films, which have ranged on topics from college football rivalries to US soldiers in Iraq. It was there that the two witnessed severe injuries firsthand, and learned of the sporting program that turns wounded veterans into Paralympic athletes. Their current project, Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing, follows former soldiers as they train for the 2008 Paralympic Games.  Brent Renaud spoke to Alex Pasternack from New York, just before leaving for Okinawa to join the US Team in training. The brothers are producing web videos for the US Paralympic team while they are in Beijing, you can view the videos here. Melissa Stockwell failed to qualify for the 100m Freestyle and Butterfly earlier this week, she'll be competing in the 400m Freestyle on Friday morning.

This interview first appeared In the September issue of Urbane.

Alex Pasternack: How did this film come about?

Brent Renaud: There’s a scene in our film Off to War shortly after we get to Baghdad when a mortar hits the base where I’m staying with the soldiers. A number of them were killed, a number of them were injured; one of the soldiers I was with that day ended up losing his arm and having problems with one of this legs. When he returned to the States he started getting involved with these sports programs for injured veterans. They say if you or I get injured or lose a leg, we’d need to train full time for six or seven years and then we might be able to reach that level. But some of these soldiers have done it in less than year. It’s a pretty remarkable story.

This month Beijing hosts the Paralympics, and Urbane takes a closer look at the athletes and the games they play. As the event represents a high-profile demonstration of handicapped awareness in a city not necessarily known for it, our second feature investigates how far Beijing has come in terms of accessibility.

Meanwhile, in the month after the Olympic Games, not only does the world continue to turn, but it's only getting wider and brighter for Urbane readers. Robert La Bua takes us to the gateway to Antarctica, Amy Fabris-Shi appraises the fabulous Palazzo Versace on Australia’s Gold Coast, Rania Ho braves the vertiginous dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert, and Gary Bowerman shares a sneak peak of the wonders in store for the 2010 Guangzhou Asia Games.